This Old House
by CSakuraS
Summary: Some friendships are meant to last forever. That's what Mai always thought. But as time passes, change will inevitably come. (Childhood Friends AU)


That day started like many others like it.

Mai and Gene sat on top of a jungle gym, swinging their legs as cicadas screamed in the trees around them.

"What do you wanna play today?" Mai asked.

It was summer break, the brief period in time when they were all the same age. The twins would be turning nine in September, and then once again, Mai would be a year behind.

"Hmm, how about tag?" Gene suggested.

"But it's too hot to run around…"

"Then hide and seek?"

"Maybe…"

"What about you, Noll? What do you want to play?"

Gene looked down to where Naru sat on a lower rung of the jungle gym, reading a book.

"Why do I have to be included?" Naru muttered.

"Cause it's boring with just two people!" Mai and Gene whined in unison.

Naru sighed. "...Hide and seek."

The twins' actual names were Eugene and Oliver, but Mai had taken to calling them by their nicknames, 'Gene' and 'Naru,' because that was what they called each other. Only, Gene called Naru 'Noll,' but Mai found that tricky to pronounce. So 'Naru' had stuck instead.

They climbed off the jungle gym and played rock-paper-scissors to determine who would be "it." This time, it was Gene.

"I'm gonna start counting!" Gene said, turning around.

"Let's go, Naru!" Mai whispered. The two of them hurried out of the playground.

Originally, the game took place only around the playground, and lasted as long as an hour. Recently, however, the scope had expanded to much of the surrounding neighborhood, and sometimes could last all afternoon. In short, the twins were too good at it, and they'd quickly exhausted hiding spots. In order to keep up, Mai was forced to get creative too, and she used her superior athleticism to her advantage, hiding in harder to reach places.

She now looked around, trying to decide whether she wanted to climb another tree or rooftop. Then she noticed Naru walking straight down the street, no hesitation in his footsteps.

He must already have a place in mind. Curious, Mai tagged along.

He glanced back at her.

"Why are you following me?"

"You always hide in interesting places, Naru! I wanna see!"

"You'll have less time to hide yourself."

"That's okay," she smiled.

He gave her a lingering glance, before looking away.

To her surprise, Naru went to Granny's house. There, he slid open the front door, entered, and took his shoes off in the foyer. But instead of leaving them there, he picked up his shoes and carried them into the house.

Mai stared. "You're taking them with you…?"

"If Gene finds our shoes lying out here, it's a dead giveaway that we're hiding inside the house, dummy."

She pouted. "I'm not a dummy!" Mai shut the door behind her, then quickly took off her sandals and carried them with her too.

Next, Naru headed upstairs. The second floor had three small bedrooms. Naru and Gene's rooms were on either end of the hall, with the one in the middle a spare, currently being used as storage.

Naru entered the spare bedroom, slid open the closet door, and crawled inside.

"Ehhh, here?" Mai frowned, disappointed. "But it's so obvious!"

"Exactly. After all the other times we've played hide and seek, the first thing Gene will think to do is search in places you wouldn't expect. An _obvious_ hiding spot like this would probably be the last place he'd check."

"Huh…"

Naru leaned his shoes against the wall of the closet and settled in next to the stacked futons.

"Later." He closed the door.

Mai stared at the closet door for a minute, thinking. Then she slid it back open.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Naru stammered, as she crawled inside.

"Hiding with you seems more fun than hiding alone."

He blinked at her, then sighed. "Dummy. If both of us hide in the same place, it's no different than playing with two people."

"Heheh, maybe," she grinned, curling up beside him. "But it feels different to me."

She slid the door closed.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Hide and Seek**

* * *

Mai's breath fogged in the night air as she exited the convenience store near the train station. Wearing a coat over her high school uniform, she carried a plastic bag in one hand, and her school bag in the other. She had come to the store right after school for her part-time job, but now that her shift was over, it was time to head home.

She walked down the streets of the quiet Tokyo suburb, the only noise coming from a few izakaya along the way, rowdy voices of drunk businessmen seeping outside. A warm glow from the storefronts lit her path.

Mai yawned. It had been a struggle staying awake during school and work today. She had just taken her college entrance exams over the weekend and still hadn't recovered from all the late night studying. She longed for a warm bath and her soft futon.

Fortunately, home wasn't too far. After walking ten minutes, she arrived at Granny's house. Built in the 1960's, this house was probably the oldest building left standing in the neighborhood.

It also happened to be the house her childhood friends had grown up in. And, for the last few years, the house where Mai lived as well.

She dug out her keys, unlocked the front door, and slid it open. "I'm home!" Mai announced as she entered, though no one was there to greet her.

Only Naru's shoes were present in the foyer. Mai frowned, disappointed but not surprised. She took off her own shoes and continued inside.

On her way down the hall, Mai stopped by the staircase and yelled upstairs. "Naru, dinner!" Then she made her way to the kitchen.

She set her plastic bag on the kitchen table and took out its contents. Leftover expired food. The food was still perfectly good, of course, but the store wasn't allowed to sell them past the expiration date. And since they would just be thrown out anyway, Mai got to take them home for free. It really helped with their food expenses.

A minute later, she heard someone descend the stairs and Naru entered the kitchen.

"Are you okay with yakisoba? Or do you want the bento?" she asked.

"Yakisoba," he said, sitting down.

Mai nodded, put the bento back in the bag, and began to microwave their food. A beef bowl for herself, yakisoba for Naru. They could share the potato salad.

With the food warmed up, Mai sat down and they began to eat.

"Ugh, I'm seriously tired," she groaned. "You know I almost fell asleep on the job today? It was so embarrassing. I had to drink two cans of coffee just to get through my shift."

"Then hurry up and go to bed," Naru said.

"That's the plan! After I take a bath. Did you already take one?"

"Thirty minutes ago."

"Okay, then the water's still warm." Mai chewed thoughtfully. "...What about Gene? Should I save the bath for him too?"

"Don't bother. Even if he comes home tonight, it'll probably be late enough that he'll go straight to bed."

"Yeah. Right." She sighed. "I don't know why I bother bringing food home for him too." She gestured to the bento still in the bag. "Do you want to take this for lunch again tomorrow?"

"Fine."

"I wish he'd at least let us know if he's not coming home. Or tell us anything at all," Mai grumbled.

"Stop fussing over him. He can take care of himself."

"But _someone_ has to worry about him! _You're_ not, and you're his _brother!_ So it has to be me! I mean, what if he's getting into trouble? Is he even eating properly?"

"You're acting as if you're his mother."

Mai sputtered. "A-am not!"

"Anyway. If you have time to worry about him, worry about yourself, dummy." He flicked her forehead.

She rubbed her forehead, pouting. "I can do both, can't I?"

"Say that when you're not falling asleep on the job."

"Shouldn't have told you about that…" she muttered, poking at her food.

Naru finished his yakisoba. "Thanks for the food." He got up, threw out his trash, then disappeared back upstairs.

Once again, she was left sitting alone at the kitchen table. Mai let out a long sigh.

Mealtimes in this house used to be a lot more lively.

For example— two years ago, on Mai's 17th birthday, they had celebrated by having yakiniku for dinner, grilling meat and veggies on an electric griddle placed on the kitchen table.

At one point, Mai and Gene had reached for the same slice of meat, and their chopsticks clashed.

"Hey! I had my eye on this one!" Mai protested.

"That's funny, so did I."

Their eyes locked.

"Gene," she smiled. "Whose birthday do you think it is?"

"It's good of you to bring that up, because I was actually planning to get this one for you," he smiled right back.

"Somehow, I don't believe that."

"You wound me, Mai! How can you not trust this face?" He turned the charm on full blast. His face practically sparkled.

"Don't try that with me! I know you're always up to something when you pull the innocent act!"

She made a lunge for the meat, but Gene parried her with his chopsticks.

"Hey! Why you—" Seeing Gene make his own lunge, Mai blocked him in return. "Take that!"

Granny chuckled at them. "You youngsters are always so energetic."

"Mai! One of us has to get it, or it's gonna be overcooked!"

"So you should let me have it!"

Their chopsticks clashed again. But then a third pair of chopsticks dipped beneath theirs, snagging the meat right from under them.

"AH!"

The victor was Naru.

"No fair, Naru!"

"You don't even like meat!"

Unconcerned, Naru deposited the piece of meat in Granny's bowl.

Granny patted his arm appreciatively. "Thank you, Oliver. You're such a dear."

Naru sent Mai and Gene a smug look. "Apparently I'm the only one thinking about the elderly around here."

Unable to complain, they had just glowered at him.

Mai snickered at the memory. Then, as was becoming a nightly ritual, she checked her phone for any messages from Gene.

Things had become very awkward between them recently. More than even Naru knew. Consequently, her communications with Gene had become decidedly one-sided.

_Are you okay? Where are you staying?_ Sent three weeks ago.

_Please come home. We're both worried. _Sent two weeks ago.

_If it's about what happened, don't worry. It doesn't have to change anything. _Sent one week ago.

_Please come back? _Sent last week, the night before her exam.

It was almost embarrassing how desperate she sounded. But despite her pleas, Gene had stopped responding weeks ago.

* * *

After dinner, Mai went to Granny's room— a small Japanese-style room on the first floor. This was where the family altar was located.

Mai knelt before the altar, rang the altar bell, and brought her hands together in prayer.

On the altar was an old photograph of Granny's parents (the twins' great-grandparents), a photograph of Mai's parents (Granny had allowed Mai to combine their altars when she moved in), and finally, a recent addition: a photograph of Granny herself.

Though they all called her 'Granny,' she was actually the twins' great-aunt. The twins used to live in America, where they had been neglected by their birth parents. But when their mother died when they were 7 years old, their father sent them to Japan to live with distant relatives— which was probably the kindest thing he could have done for them. According to Granny, the boys had arrived in the country with little more than their passports and the clothes on their backs.

Granny herself had never married or had children of her own, and despite already being retired and elderly, she suddenly had two young boys to care for. Mai's mother, who lived in the nearby apartment building and often relied on Granny for babysitting, tried to help in any way she could. Mai also took it upon herself to help the twins adjust to their new home, and they became fast friends.

They played a lot together in those early days. But it was by no means a carefree childhood. Every few years, they were haunted by a fresh tragedy.

During Mai's last year of middle school, her mother was killed in a traffic accident. Granny didn't hesitate to take her in as well, letting Mai use the spare room upstairs as her new bedroom. The loss was unbearable, but at least she still had a home. And a new family to welcome her.

Then, last summer, Granny's health began to rapidly decline. By that time, Mai and the twins were already taking care of her more than she could take care of them. So when she finally passed away in October, while it had been devastating, it wasn't entirely surprising either.

If there was one thing Mai was grateful for, it was that they'd had plenty of time to say goodbye. One day, when all three of them were gathered around her hospital bed, Granny had taken each of their hands in hers.

"Thank you. All three of you. These last twelve years have been so precious to me. I wish I could have done more for you. But I'm so very glad I managed to live this long..."

Mai had bawled. "You're the one we have to thank, Granny!" And while Naru didn't cry, he steadfastly remained by her side until the end, listening to everything she had to say.

But of them all, Gene probably took it the hardest. He had quit his part-time job and dropped all of his college classes just so he could be at home to take care of her. So when Granny passed away despite his efforts, it shattered him.

Afterwards, he barely left the house for weeks. And when his pieces finally started to fall back together, they fused into nearly a different person. Around the start of winter break, he started going out again...and then not coming back.

The first time he didn't return for the night, Mai had worried, but assumed he was just staying out very late again. But in the morning, when she saw that he still wasn't home, she went into a panic. Emails were sent and frantic phone calls made. Eventually, Gene explained that he had stayed with a friend.

Who this mysterious friend was, he would not say. But increasingly, he began to spend more time outside than he did at home.

The past few weeks had been bleak. Winter break used to consist of the four of them sitting in the kotatsu together; drinking tea, watching TV, reading. Spending quality time together.

This year, with Granny gone, they hadn't even bothered setting up the kotatsu. Mai had been busy studying for exams, Gene was out doing who-knows-what, and Naru, without anyone to bother him, returned to his default state of being shut up in his room. Things didn't improve once the new semester started either.

Mai wished there was something she could do. After all, Granny and the twins had helped _her_ after her mother died. But how could she help someone who wasn't here? Who wouldn't even talk to her?

She understood that Gene needed his space. And she could understand why staying in this house would be painful. There were too many memories here.

But, that was precisely the reason why Mai treasured it. This house was filled with so many warm, precious memories that she wouldn't give up for anything. It was where Granny had provided them all a home.

Before she passed, Granny had told them: _"The three of you must take care of each other now."_

"I'm trying, Granny," Mai said under her breath.

* * *

After taking her bath, Mai drained the water from the tub. It felt like a waste, only using it for two people, but Naru was right. There was no point keeping it warm for someone who probably wouldn't use it.

She then changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and turned out all the lights on the first floor before climbing upstairs.

Mai paused in front of Naru's room, the closest to the landing. A few months ago, she would have poked her head in to wish him a quick goodnight. And technically, there was nothing stopping her from doing that now. Technically.

But now, it was just...awkward. Ever since that night they had all come back from the hospital, and gone silently to their separate rooms, still in shock. And all the nights after…

Mai sighed and continued on to her own room. There, she went right to bed.

And yet, even though she was exhausted, she just couldn't fall asleep. As difficult as it had been to study amidst everything going on, it had been a welcome distraction. Now that she had nothing else to focus on, her worries ran through her head in an endless loop.

Mai shivered under the covers, the warmth from her bath already dissipated. She stared across the room, at the closet door. Old memories stirred. She sighed.

"I wish I could go back to being a kid."

Things were so simple back then. Back when her only worry was how to stave off boredom on a hot summer's day. When she still had Mother, and Granny, and both of the twins by her side.

Tears gathered in her eyes. Automatically, she crawled out of her futon, got to her feet and peered out into the dark hallway.

The thin sliver of light from beneath Naru's door beckoned her. Before she knew it, she had crept down the hall and opened his door.

Naru was at his desk, studying. He looked up in surprise. "...Do you need something?"

But Mai ignored him, slipping behind him and into his bed, where she promptly buried herself under the covers.

He turned to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired," Mai said.

"Then go sleep in your own bed."

"Don't wanna."

"Mai."

"What do you care? You're not using it," Mai mumbled.

He sighed. "I will eventually."

"That'll be hours from now. You always stay up late."

Naru sighed again and turned back to his books, giving up.

Mai continued lying there, watching him.

It didn't have to be for long. She just wanted to be close to him, if only for a little while. Here, surrounded by Naru's scent, and seeing him work at his desk, she could feel more at ease. Soon, drowsiness overtook her, and she drifted off.

She didn't know how much time passed after that. The next thing she knew, Naru was calling her softly.

"Mai. Mai."

She opened her eyes. Naru stood right in front of her. She sighed, expecting him to tell her it was time to get out.

But instead, he said, "Move over."

Mai blinked, her brain processing the request slowly, before scooting over to make room.

Naru lay down beside her, the mattress springs creaking under his weight. The bed was twin size, barely large enough to fit two teenagers. Mai turned onto her side in an attempt to create more space.

Funny, she thought. When they napped together as kids, space was never an issue. Once, they had even fallen asleep together inside a closet while playing hide and seek. When Gene found them, they were cuddled up against a stack of futons, cozy as could be.

But now, Naru had grown up. They both had. But, maybe this wasn't so bad either. It was certainly warm.

Naru sighed, and she could physically feel the heave of his chest. "What is it?" he asked softly.

"Huh?"

"Something's bothering you."

Mai deliberated her answer. She couldn't deny it, but she had kept up a strong front for so long, she felt reluctant to let it crumble now. Yet, the only reason she had come to him like this was because she was seeking comfort. She knew it, and he knew it. So why pretend otherwise?

"Do you...think Gene would come to my graduation?" Mai finally asked, voice small.

"What?" he said. He turned onto his side to face her. "Why wouldn't he?"

"Well...maybe he'd forget…"

"He came to your elementary and middle school graduations, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but…that was before Granny died…"

"And what does that have to do with it?"

Mai pouted. Did she really have to explain? Okay, so maybe what she was saying didn't make sense logically, but couldn't he at least try to understand intuitively?

"...Would _you_ come to my graduation?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Who knows."

"Meanie." She pinched his arm.

"Do that again, and I'll push you out of bed."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

In response, he rolled his eyes, then flopped onto his back, facing the ceiling.

Typical Naru. Unlike Gene, he was cold, insensitive, and unfriendly.

But...he was there when you needed him.

Actually, she'd started seeing him a bit differently in recent days. He was cold, yes; but that also made him resilient. He didn't get emotional, so she didn't have to worry about him as much. He was a creature of habit, so he didn't tend to stray from his schedule. And he didn't like to go out either, so she could usually expect him to be home at the end of the day.

All these traits, that she had once thought made him a bore, had caused him to become her precious lifeline during the past months.

"Hey, Naru?"

"What?"

"Do you plan to stay in this house in the future?"

He thought about it for a moment. "...I see no reason to move just yet. There's no rent, and the location is convenient."

"So you think you'll be here for a while?"

"Probably."

"But it's an old house, you know? It's gonna fall apart if you don't maintain it. You're gonna do that all by yourself? It's a lot of hard work."

"I'll have you to help me."

He said it like a statement. But it sounded like a question.

Naru glanced at her, waiting for her reply.

Mai smiled. Maybe she wasn't the only one needing some assurance.

"Yeah, I'll be here to help. Don't worry."

He nodded and closed his eyes. "Now stop talking and go to sleep."

She closed her eyes. "Kay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Author's Note: So as you may have noticed, this is a No Powers AU— it felt a little unnecessary including everyone's psychic abilities when that isn't what this story focuses on (plus, I already explore that stuff in my other AU, The Ghost of Giffords Library), so I decided to just cut them out this time.

As a result of that, and the fact that he's known Mai for over ten years, this is a much softer Naru than I'm used to writing. But I like doing things differently once in a while. :) I'm hoping this story won't be too long (I'm aiming for less than 10 chapters) so I can return to The Ghost of Giffords Library once I get it out of my system, but please enjoy for now!


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